Bottled structure

ABSTRACT

A bottled structure includes a bottle, a liquid substance and an electrical tag. The bottle has a body. The body has a bottle opening. The liquid substance is contained in the body and has a dielectric constant. The electrical tag is disposed on the body. The electrical tag has a radiator, wherein the radiation power of the radiator is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening than that on a plane perpendicular to the body according to the dielectric constant of the liquid substance.

This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 99142204, filed Dec. 3, 2010, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates in general to a bottled structure, and more particularly to an anti-forgery bottled structure with an electrical tag.

2. Description of the Related Art

The commonly used anti-forgery technologies for bottled products include watermark, anti-forgery ink, anti-forgery laser tag, barcode, telephone goods code inquiry and so on. Most of these anti-forgery technologies provide an anti-forgery design on the cap of a bottled product to help the consumers determining whether the bottled product is authentic and has not been opened or rebottled. However, the conventional anti-forgery tag has the following disadvantages: (1) The threshold of the technology is low, and the anti-forgery tag is easy to imitate. (2) The lifespan of effective anti-forgery is short, and once a new anti-forgery tag is presented, the imitation will soon appear in the market 3 to 6 months later. (3) The conventional anti-forgery tag is not antifouling, and the tag can no longer be used once tarnished. (4) The telephone goods code inquiry pays to use and is thus seldom used.

Despite it is indeed not an easy job to fight against the forged bottled products which still can be found in the market, cause big loss to the manufacturers, jeopardize the sales and reputation of the product and impair consumers' intention, it is an imminent issue to improve the anti-forgery technology and provide more efficient and more reliable anti-forgery device.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is directed to a bottled structure which increases the anti-forgery effect and changes the radiation pattern of the radiator with the liquid substance contained in the bottle, so that the radiation power of the radiator is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening and has better performance when read along the measuring direction of the bottle opening.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a bottled structure including a bottle, a liquid substance and an electrical tag is provided. The bottle has a body. The body has a bottle opening. The liquid substance is contained in the body and has a dielectric constant. The electrical tag is disposed on the body. The electrical tag has a radiator, wherein the radiation power of the radiator is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening than that on a plane perpendicular to the body according to the dielectric constant of the liquid substance.

The above and other aspects of the disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following detailed description of the non-limiting embodiment(s). The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a bottled structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 1B shows an RF module for detecting a bottled structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a radiation pattern according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a radiation pattern of an electrical tag on an X-Z plane and an X-Y plane respectively.

FIG. 4A-4B show different shapes of body according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an effective range of the radiation pattern according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6, 7 respectively show the radiation pattern of an electrical tag on the X-Z plane varying with the change in the dielectric constant and the size of the body.

FIGS. 8A and 8B respectively show an antenna structure of an electrical tag according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B respectively show another antenna structure of an electrical tag according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The bottled structure of the present embodiment achieves the effect of anti-forgery by a radio frequency identification (RFID) electrical tag. In one embodiment, the operating frequency of the electrical tag ranges between 860˜960 MHz. Each electrical tag has a unique code. The chip of the electrical tag has a certain memory space for reading/writing data, can be encrypted but not copied, and has the features of long lifespan, antifouling and long reader range. Besides, the chip of the electrical tag is formed on a flexible substrate, through which the electrical tag can be deformed to fit the shapes of the bottled products.

In an embodiment, the electrical tag is disposed on a bottled product containing a liquid substance 116 for providing the bottled product with anti-forgery function. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A shows a bottled structure according to an embodiment. FIG. 1B shows an RF module for detecting a bottled structure according to an embodiment. The bottled structure 100 includes a bottle 110, a liquid substance 116 and an electrical tag 120. The bottle 110 has a cap 114 and a body 112. The body 112 has a bottle opening 112 a, and the cap 114 is for sealing the bottle opening 112 a. The liquid substance 116 is contained in the body 112 and has a dielectric constant. The electrical tag 120 is disposed on the body 112. The electrical tag 120 has a radiator 122, wherein the radiation power of the radiator 122 is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening 112 a than that on a plane (X-Y plane) perpendicular to the body 112 (the Z axis) according to the dielectric constant of the liquid substance 116. In an embodiment, the radiation power of the radiator 122 is stronger on a plane (X-Z plane or Y-Z plane) parallel to the body 112 (the Z axis) so as to form an omni-directional radiation pattern. When the bottled structure 100 is disposed in the detection device, an RF detection module 150 disposed above the bottle opening 112 a detects the signal emitted from the electrical tag 120 for determining the authenticity.

In FIG. 1B, the RF detection module 150 has an antenna for emitting an RF signal. When the bottle 110 is placed within the working range of the RF detection module 150, the electrical tag 120 disposed on the body 112 will receive RF energy and activate an in-built chip (not illustrated) for sending out information such as identification code through the radiator 122. Since the radiation power of the radiator 122 is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening 112 a or forms an omni-directional radiation pattern on a plane (X-Z plane or Y-Z plane) parallel to the body (the Z axis), the radiation pattern (converting the reader range of the tag) as illustrated in FIG. 2 has longer reading range on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening 112 a. After the RF detection module 150 receives a signal from the electrical tag 120, the received signal is demodulated and decoded, and the validity of the electrical tag 120 is determined according to logic computation. Thus, the bottled structure 100 of the present embodiment achieves the effect of anti-forgery. In addition, the electrical tag 120 is powered by a direct current (DC) converted from the received RF energy.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a radiation pattern of an electrical tag on an X-Z plane and an X-Y plane respectively. Referring to FIG. 3A. In an embodiment, when the radiator 122 of the electrical tag 120 is parallel to the Z-Y plane and attached to the body 112, and the body 112 contains no the liquid substance 116 inside but the air, experimental results show that the radiation pattern of the electrical tag 120 has an omni-directional radiation pattern on the X-Y plane and generates two null points carrying weaker radiation on the X-Z plane. Consequently, the electrical tag 120 can be stably read on the X-Y plane but cannot be read on the top or the bottom of the Z axis. Referring to FIG. 3B. In an embodiment, when the radiator 122 of the electrical tag 120 is parallel to the Z-Y plane and attached to the body 112 and the body 112 contains the liquid substance 116 inside, experimental results show that due to the dielectric properties of the liquid substance 116, the radiation pattern of the electrical tag 120 has an omni-directional radiation pattern on the X-Z plane, and the null points are shifted to the X-Y plane. Consequently, the electrical tag 120 can now be read on the top or the bottom of the Z axis, which originally cannot be read.

The above comparisons show that the dielectric constant of the liquid substance 116 is larger than that of the air. Therefore, when the electrical tag 120 is attached on the bottle 110 containing the liquid substance 116, the radiation pattern of the electrical tag 120 is affected by the dielectric constant of the liquid substance 116 and changes accordingly. In an embodiment, the antenna impedance can be adjusted according to the range of the dielectric constant of the liquid substance 116, so that the electrical tag 120 can be used in various bottled products containing the liquid substance 116. Examples of the liquid substance 116 include alcohol, juice, cola, sparkling water, mineral water and so on. The bottle 110 can be made from glass or plastic, and no specific restriction is imposed.

In the embodiments exemplified below, experimental simulations are performed with regard to the liquid substance 116, which have different dielectric constants and are contained in various-sized bottle bodies 112, to obtain an optimum radiation pattern. Referring to FIGS. 4A-4B and 5. FIGS. 4A-4B show different shapes of body according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an effective range of the radiation pattern according to an embodiment. In an embodiment as indicated in FIG. 4A, the body 112 is a cylinder, and the width of the body (that is, diameter D of FIG. 4A) right behind the electrical tag 120 ranges 6-8 cm. When the liquid substance 116 is contained in a cylinder body 112 and has a dielectric constant ranging 50-80, a preferred radiation pattern, such as range A, can be obtained as indicated in FIG. 5. Range A provides radiation power strong enough for being read. In another embodiment as indicated in FIG. 4B, the body 112 is a cuboid and the width of the body (that is, length L of FIG. 4B) right behind the electrical tag 120 ranges 6-9 cm. When the liquid substance 116 is contained in the cuboidal body 112 and has a dielectric constant ranging from 40-80, a preferred radiation pattern, such as range B, can be obtained as indicated in FIG. 5. Range B provides radiation power strong enough for being read.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the width of the body right behind the electrical tag 120 will affect the radiation pattern of the electrical tag 120, wherein the width ranges 6-9 cm. In FIG. 4B, the electrical tag 120 is parallel to the Y-Z plane, directed towards the +X-axis direction, symmetric with respect to the X axis and attached on the surface of the body 112. In the present embodiment, the width of the body right behind the electrical tag 120 is length L. In other words, the length L is the width of the body 112 on the X axis. When the body 112 is a cylinder, the width of the body 112 right behind the electrical tag 120 is the diameter D of the cylinder. Therefore, regardless the shapes of the body being squared, round, pentagonal, hexagonal or other shape, the design is still focused on the width of the body right behind the electrical tag 120.

In the embodiments exemplified below, experimental simulations are performed with regard to different dielectric constants of the liquid substance and various-sized bottle bodies to analyze the characteristics of preferred radiation pattern on the X-Z plane. Referring to FIGS. 4A-4B, 6 and 7. FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively show the radiation pattern of an electrical tag on the X-Z plane varying with the change in the dielectric constant of the liquid substance and the diameter D of the bottle body. In FIG. 6, data 1 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern given that the dielectric constant equals 50 and the diameter D of the cylinder equals 8 cm. Data 2 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern on the X-Z plane given that the dielectric constant equals 60 and the diameter D of the cylinder equals 7 cm. Data 3 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern given that the dielectric constant equals 80 and the diameter D of the cylinder equals 6 cm. In FIG. 7, data 4 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern on the X-Z plane given that the dielectric constant equals 50 and the length L of the cuboid bottle equals 8 cm. Data 5 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern on the X-Z plane given that the dielectric constant equals 60 and the length L of the squared bottle equals 7 cm. Data 6 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern on the X-Z plane given that the dielectric constant equals 80 and the length L of the squared bottle equals 6 cm. Data 7 corresponds to a simulated result of radiation pattern on the X-Z plane given that the dielectric constant equals 40 and the length L of the squared bottle equals 9 cm.

Despite the bottle body is exemplified by round bottle and cuboid bottle in the above embodiments, the invention is not limited thereto. The shape of body can be a cylinder or a cuboid or any other cubic body such as cone, sphere, flat cylinder, pentagonal prism or hexagonal prism and is not subjected to any specific restrictions. Regardless the shapes of the body being squared, round, pentagonal, hexagonal or other shape, the design is focused on the width of the body right behind the electrical tag.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an antenna structure of an electrical tag according to an embodiment is respectively shown. The antenna structure 200 includes a first coupling portion 210, a second coupling portion 220 and a radiator 230. The radiator 230, such as realized by a rectangular metal, has a long side 232. The first coupling portion 210 and the second coupling portion 220 are respectively connected to the long side 232 of the radiator 230, and the first coupling portion 210 and the second coupling portion 220 are spaced by a gap G to form an inductive dipole antenna. In an embodiment, the long side 232 of the radiator 230 of an antenna structure is parallel to the opening direction (the Z axis) of a bottle opening, the radiation power of the radiator is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening and/or on a plane (X-Z plane or Y-Z plane) parallel to the body so as to form an omni-directional radiation pattern according to the dielectric constant of the liquid substance.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, another antenna structure of an electrical tag according to an embodiment of the invention is respectively shown. The antenna structure 300 includes a first coupling portion 310, a second coupling portion 320 and a radiator 330. The radiator 330, such as realized by a metal tie, has a central segment 332. The first coupling portion 310 and the second coupling portion 320 are respectively connected to a central segment 332 of the radiator 330, and the first coupling portion 310 and the second coupling portion 320 are spaced by a gap G to form a bow-tie dipole antenna. In an embodiment, the central segment 332 of the radiator 330 of the antenna structure 300 is parallel to the opening direction (the Z axis) of the bottle opening. The dielectric properties of the liquid substance make the antenna have stronger antenna gain on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening and/or on a plane (X-Z plane or Y-Z plane) parallel to the body so as to form an omni-directional radiation pattern.

The bottled structure disclosed in the above embodiments achieves the effect of anti-forgery with an RFID electrical tag. The electrical tag can be attached on the body of the bottle and the body contains a liquid substance inside, the radiation power of the antenna is stronger on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening and/or on a plane (X-Z plane or Y-Z plane) parallel to the body, the reader range can be larger. In one embodiment, the reader range can achieve as far as about 3 m. The radiation pattern of the electrical tag can achieve a preferred design with the effective range determined according to the size of the body and the dielectric constant of the liquid substance contained in the body. In another embodiment, the electrical tag further stores the information of the liquid substance contained in the bottle body such as the manufacturing date, year, ingredients and/or concentration for the user to determine the authenticity of the bottled product so as to achieve anti-forgery and prompt settlement of the accounts.

While the disclosure has been described by way of example and in terms of the exemplary embodiment(s), it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures. 

1. A bottled structure, comprising: a bottle having a body, wherein the body has a bottle opening; a liquid substance contained in the body, wherein the liquid substance has a dielectric constant; and an electrical tag disposed on the body, wherein the electrical tag has a radiator, and the radiation power of the radiator on the top or the bottom of the bottle opening is stronger than that on a plane perpendicular to the body according to the dielectric constant of the liquid substance.
 2. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the radiation power of the radiator on at least a plane parallel to the body is stronger than that on the plane perpendicular to the body.
 3. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the radiator is realized by a rectangular metal, and a long side of the rectangular metal is parallel to an opening direction of the bottle opening.
 4. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the radiator is realized by a metal tie, the metal bow-tie has a central segment, and the central segment is parallel to an opening direction of the bottle opening.
 5. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein a width of the body right behind the electrical tag ranges 6-9 cm.
 6. The bottled structure according to claim 5, wherein the body is realized by a round bottle, a cuboid bottle, a conical bottle or a spherical bottle.
 7. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric constant of the liquid substance ranges 40-80.
 8. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein a material of the bottle comprises glass or plastic.
 9. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the electrical tag is a radio frequency identification tag, and an operating frequency range of the electrical tag is 860˜960 MHz.
 10. The bottled structure according to claim 1, wherein the body is realized by a round bottle, a cuboid bottle, a conical bottle or a spherical bottle. 